The Pathfinder Foundation Felicitated

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Sri Lanka recognized the Pathfinder Foundation as one of its top 10 partners at a ceremony to mark Chinese New Year and Sri Lanka's National Day held at the BMICH on Friday 17th January. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne, Minister of Health Maithreepala Sirisena, Minister of External Affairs G.L Peiris and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga were among those present at this ceremony. Here Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao presents the top 10 partners award to Mr. Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation.

India and Sri Lanka are two neighbouring Indian Ocean states. A shallow and narrow strip of sea called the ‘Palk Bay’ and the ‘Gulf of Mannar’ separates the two countries. There is a clearly demarcated, mutually agreed upon and legally binding International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), separating the territorial waters of the two countries. There are binding commonalities in the form of linguistic, cultural, religious and vocational, between Tamil Nadu and the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Until the signing of IMBL agreements in 1974 and 1976, fishermen from coastal districts of both countries used this sea, mainly for traditional fishing. There was a harmonious coexistence between these communities for a long time. However, Tamil Nadu fishermen changed their fishing methods in late 1970s and upgraded to steel hulled fishing vessels and engaged in bottom-trawling in order to boost production. Continuous bottom trawling in the Indian side of the IMBL resulted in depleting fish stocks therein. Gradually, these trawlers began to cross over to the Sri Lankan side of the IMBL. The newly introduced Indian trawlers were much bigger and more powerful than the traditional craft, as they had to trawl and recover nets heavy with the catch. The fishermen of northern Sri Lanka found it extremely difficult to venture in to the sea during the days when Indian trawlers were poaching, as they feared damage to their boats and fishing gear, as well as safety for their lives.

In assessing the proposed ETCA, it is important to place any analysis within the overall context of the options for accelerated development available to a country like Sri Lanka. The need to prioritise faster growth and employment generation is reinforced by the fact that: (i) Sri Lanka has slipped from being second to Japan in Asia on most socioeconomic indicators at the time of independence to a position much further down in the ranking of countries in this region; and (ii) tens of thousands of young people have been killed in the two Southern insurrections largely due to a mismatch between opportunities and expectations. This was also an important causal factor for the separatist movement in the North and East. Given this legacy, it is imperative that the highest priority has to be given to growth and employment creation. During the last 10-years, the public service has increased by 700,000 persons. The current budget and debt dynamics mean that such a course of action can no longer be continued. Similarly, the previous external commercial borrowing financed growth model has also run out of headroom. This means that growth and employment will have to be driven by private investment. The savings and investment gap in Sri Lanka is such that FDI, as a non-debt creating inflow, will have to play a crucial role in filling this gap and generating the desired growth and employment.

The Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and Economic Belt policy initiatives unveiled by President Xi Jinping in 2013 were identified as significant elements of an overall Chinese attempt to leverage China’s growing economic power and influence along its geographic boundaries. The objectives of this enormous development initiative is to strengthen and expand cooperative interactions, create an integrated web of mutually beneficial economic, social and political ties, and ultimately lower distrust and enhance a sense of common security.